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Last weekend saw a slightly depleted fleet of 3 12ft Skiffs take the trip to Southampton for the Weston Skiff Open. The teams in attendance were CST Composites crewed by Andy Lang & Dave Roe, Design Source crewed by Iain Christie & Tom Vian, and CMcS-POM crewed by Bob Clements & Alan Atterbury.
As Saturday morning dawned, a slightly hung-over fleet could be seen looking across Southampton water wondering whether it was going be No.2 or No.3 rigs. As the morning progressed however, the pleasant 12-15 knot breeze began to show signs of building, so 3 rigs were the choice for the day by all the teams.
After a general recall on the first start, Design Source got away well, and was at the windward mark in 4th overall, only to find that they had been over the line at the start and were black-flagged. On CST, Dave Roe having not sailed much for a few years, found the pace a bit challenging, and decided to sit-out the second race to get a rest and have another piece of that chocolate cake! Bob and Alan were out in their new boat for the first time, and proved conclusively that un-stayed bowsprits simply aren’t man enough for 12’s, snapping theirs clean in half on the way down to the leeward gate for the first race, and putting paid to the rest of their regatta.
Sunday dawned very windy (both inside and outside the tents), and yet again, the gaggle of 12 sailors with massive hang-overs (from the previous night’s booo-ka-ka session) were seen looking out over Southampton water, only this time it was going to be 4th rig all the way. With the wind blowing 25kts and gusting up to 35kts, the race officer cancelled the racing, so a despondent 12 contingent decided to put on a show for the other sailors by going out for an epic blast, pleasing the on-lookers with lots of airtime whilst blasting downwind at 20kts.
So, as racing goes, it won’t go down as a classic, but overall, another memorable and hugely enjoyable weekend of sailing and socialising was had by all.
Final placings were:-
1st Design Source Iain Christie & Tom Vian 6pts
2nd CST Composites Andy Lang & Dave Roe 5 pts
3rd CMcS-POM Bob Clements & Alan Atterbury 4pts
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Iain & Tom getting air in Design Source
Andy & Dave at speed on CST
Bob & Alan giving Design Source a blast
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